


Three Square Meals

by LadyDollyFace



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Kind of? Yeah..., Warning: Hunger, Warning: Neglect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-11-01 20:36:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10929591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDollyFace/pseuds/LadyDollyFace
Summary: The students of Auradon prep have have never realized how bad things were on the Isle of the Lost, but they always assumed food wasn't an issue. They were wrong.





	1. The First Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> I usually post on fanfiction, however I like the format of AO3 more so hi!  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Disney or Descendants, and none of the characters.  
> Also, I'd appreciate any comments!

Chapter 1

The First Dinner

The first time the student of Auradon got a glimpse of the life on the Isle of the Lost, it was at dinner on their first day. It wasn't special, just a regular dinner. But to the four children of villains, it was a whole new experience.

It started with the four in Mal and Evie’s room, Mal reading the spellbook, Evie sewing and Jay and Carlos playing a card game, when Carlo spoke up.

“Do you think they feed us? I mean, we arrived after lunch time, but do they have dinner here?”

No one could answer his question.

“I’m sure they do. I mean, these prissy kids probably throw fits when they don’t get enough to eat.”

“Yeah,” Laughed Mal, “I would love to see Audrey on the island. She’d probably cry to “Bennie-Boo” after five minutes.” 

“I’d barely give it one.” Jay answered.

As they laughed, there was a knock on the door. Evie, being the closest, answered.

As she opened it, she was greeted by the site of Doug, who seemed nervous, even more so now that Evie was the one he was talking to. She leaned against the door frame, leaning her head in a way that distracted Doug with her beauty.

“Yes Doug? Is there anything you need me for?” She asked. He swallowed harshly, before saying the words he rehearsed on the way over to the room. 

“Um… Well… Dinner has started, so i’m here to escort you to the dining hall. I mean, you and your friends.”

She gave a big smile, excited at the prospect of ending the pain of her empty stomach, a feeling that they all had sadly become accustomed. She whipped her head around to the three still in her room, all of them curious, but excited to eat an Auradon Prep dinner.

The group in the room all got up and followed Doug.

As Doug showed them to the cafeteria, already full of children, Ben made is way over to them.

"Welcome to the Auradon Prep dining hall. We have a table reserved for you all, and the food is already on the table. Just take from the plates and baskets at the table. It’s a different setup usually, but this is so you don’t have to wait on line."

The four looked at each other in confusion as they were brought over to their table. When they focused, they were in shock. So. Much. Food.

After their initial shock, they all ran to the table, piling food onto their plated, eating already as they did. Carlos and Jay fought over the plate full of burgers. Mal was stuffing her face with pieces of bread, taking turns between that and scooping pieces of chicken into her mouth, and even Evie was filling her plate with sandwiches and cooked vegetables. The rest of the students stopped eating their own food to look at the new kids, with a mixture of confusion and disgust. It was Ben who finally said something.

"Whoa guys, you are all going to get sick if you eat so much. Don’t worry, there will be food here at breakfast too." 

He meant it as a joke, but when he saw the reactions of the four, he realized that they were seriously worried about the lack of meal times.

"We get breakfast too!?" Carlos asked, finally swallowing the food in his mouth completely.

"Um... Yeah." Ben said, as Jay and Carlos high fived, while Evie clapped her hands in excitement. Mal was still in shock as she stood to face Ben completely.  
"How many meals do we get?" She asked.  
"Three a day." Ben answered.  
"Everyday?" Piped in Evie.

"Yes of course. No one goes hungry in my kingdom..." Ben said, trailing off when he remembers that the Isle of the Lost is still in his kingdom. "How often did you eat on the island?"

Mal was the one to answer, as the others were back to eating. She herself has snuck in bites while Ben was talking. "Well, it depended on if our parents decided to feed us, which wasn't often, honestly. But we found ways to get food ourselves. Usually, we were able to scrape up enough for at least a meal a day."

"A few weeks ago," Carlos started, "Jay had gotten us two whole loaves of bread."

"Only a day old, too!" Jay interrupted, proud of himself. But he still he continued, "And, well, Evie did her part..."

"Yeah!" She said, excitedly, "The butcher's son had some feelings for me, so I was able to get him to give us a whole pound of... hm... what was it?" She stopped, looking at Mal.   
"Ham." She said, smiling at the memory of the last time they were actually full, even though it was weeks ago.

"Yeah, that day we had a real feast!" Carlos exclaimed.

They went back to eating, but no one else did. That was when the students of Auradon prep started thinking about the Isle of the Lost. If children rarely ate, what else went on there. Eventually, people started to eat their lunch, not wanting to let it go to waste, and appreciating it a bit more. It got some thinking. Could these kids ended up choosing good, if that ever was an option? Was it fair to punish them based on their parents crimes? If the people of Auradon were so good, why were things to unfair? Maybe, just maybe, Prince Ben wasn’t wrong.


	2. Dessert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little change to one of the scenes.

As the four children of the nastiest villains snuck down to the kitchen to brew up the magic love potion, in the form of cookies, they all had mixed feelings.

Evie was excited to finally bake with a fully stocked kitchen, or at least, that’s what Doug told her. He always tells her exactly what she wants to hear, from answering her sneaky questions to telling her that her hair is perfect when she gets worried. 

Mal was excited in a different way. To finally make a potion,and to use it for evil? She was so close to making her mother proud. And she would anger stupid Princess Audrey, her own personal revenge, to hurt the same family who hurt hers. She gave a smirk to show her evil joy, since no one was watching.

Jay and Carlos didn’t really care, just showing up because they all had the same mission, Carlos clutching Dude to his chest.

Entering the strangely unlocked kitchen, they stopped at a table, as Mal spoke.  
“Okay, I have the ingredients and instructions. We need to find where they keep the food. Evie?” She asked, turning her head.

“Doug says they keep the food in a closet.” She explained as she started walking around the room. “Ah, here it is!” She exclaimed, opening a door. 

As they entered the pantry, they stopped short. Again. So. Much. Food. And ingredients for food.

“Okay,” Carlos said, “I know that it takes a lot of food to feed the whole school, but this is ridiculous. This could feed all our families for a year.”

Mal was the first one to snap out of her shock.

“Okay people, we are here on a mission. Jay and I will get the ingredients, Evie, you and Carlos get the pans and whatever. You’re the ones who cook, you know more than us.”

After getting the necessary things, they met up again at the table. They had most of it done when Lonnie entered.

After giving her speech about the wonders of chocolate, and supplying the last ingredient, Lonnie left, only to come back soon after.

“One more thing guys, um… Is it true? About what you were saying at dinner?” She asked sorrowly.

“As Mal said, it’s different where we’re from.” Carlos answered. “We have to live off what we can. Auradon and it’s people don’t really care enough to know what goes on on that island. We don’t get help from anyone. It’s okay, though, you get used to the hunger. It stops being so painful after a while.”

Lonnie just stands there, crying again. She wipes off her tears herself, nods, and says,

“I know you don’t want my pity, so I won’t give it to you, but let me just say, i’m happy things are better here for you.”

She quickly walked out of the kitchen, not returning this time.

They were quiet, until Jay finally said,

“I don’t like that girl.”  
“Oh please.” Carlos laughed, “You’re just upset she didn’t fall for you.”  
“She should have! Maybe the spell won’t work…”  
“Yes it will, it just didn’t have the final ingredient. Without everything, it’s useless.” Replied Mal.

Jay just pouted. Not that he would admit that.

Meanwhile, Carlos was sneaking towards the chocolate chips. It looked like the second ingredient on that little nutty thing that he had in the limo. Evie and Mal joined him, eating the chocolate, and loving it. When they were almost done, Jay realized what was going on.

“Hey!” He said angrily.

The girls shoved the bowl at Carlos, and quickly made their way to the oven to check on the cookies.

“No, Jay!” Yelled Carlos as Jay advanced towards him. They began to fight as Jay tried to get the chocolate chips, and Carlos tried to keep them away and eat them first. The girls didn’t stop them until the cookies were done, and they needed to leave. The chips were all on the floor anyway.

~:-:~

They didn’t let each other know how Lonnie’s words had affected them. But as they laid in bed, the thoughts never left their minds.

Cruella never comforted Carlos. She was the only one who wanted her kid to stay, but why? She said she would miss him, but she wouldn’t miss Carlos, she would miss having someone who would serve her. He wasn’t a son, he was a servant. She would miss someone who knew how to fix her roots, fluff her furs, do what she says. Carlos wasn’t raised to be evil. He was taught that his only purpose in life was to serve his mother. He didn’t want to steal the wand, he just wanted off the Isle of the Lost. He wanted away from his mother. Yet he was too afraid to anger his mother to fail. Carlos was stuck. Just stuck. He didn’t want to get the wand, because he’d be his mother’s slave again, but he had to get it, because he was scared. Scared to lose everything.

Carlos cuddled closer to Dude that night, hiding his tears in Dude’s fur.

As for Evie, she was confused. She didn’t mean it when she sang she never got no love. Hello, double negative… Her mother did love her, in her own way. She didn’t hug Evie, or show any type of affection. She was never proud of Evie. But that’s only because she wanted the best for her daughter, right? She wanted off the island, she wanted her daughter where she belonged. On the arm of a rich, handsome prince. But… Did Evie want that? Princes weren’t like she thought they would be. Prince Ben was sweet, but totally Mal’s territory. And Prince Chad… He wasn’t very charming. He will only speak to Evie about his homework. And she’d seen him with other girls, flashing his dazzling smile. Evie couldn’t see herself happy with him, but did she need happiness? Happiness or Fortune? Love or a Prince? Did her mother really love her, or what she could do for her mother?

All the questions made Evie’s head hurt, so she blocked her mind by thinking of dress designs for the coronation. She would be the fairest of them all.

Jay was just laying in bed. He knew his father didn’t love him. The look on his face every time Jay came home with his loot told him so. He never did enough, never stole enough, never was enough. Yet Jay still tried to please him. But he wasn’t the cute little boy who could cry his way out of any trouble. He could flirt his way to some treasures, but nothing on the Island was actually worth much, because the biggest valuables were confiscated when the villains were sent away, and no one could afford much anyway. So his dad truly asked for the impossible, and yet Jay still tried to achieve that. And here, in Auradon, with all these fancy princesses and princes, there was so much he could steal, and if he took them back, maybe then his father would be proud. Besides, the items he took could easily be replaced. They didn’t need it, but he did. 

He growled in frustration, before getting up to pace around his room. He had to move, and Carlos was sleeping anyway. He just made sure not to wake Carlos up, since he didn’t seem to be in good shape either.

And finally Mal. She wasn’t even attempting sleep, instead drawing to keep her mind occupied. But she stopped when she realized she drew her mother. Mal’s purpose in life was to be exactly like her mother. Heck, her full name is Maleficent, exactly like her mother. But sometimes, Mal wanted to be her own person. And that made her feel selfish, but... should it? Maybe when she gets the wand, she’ll be good enough, or make that bad enough, for her mother. Then she’ll get to be her own person, because she’ll be evil enough. She’ll rule the world. But what would happen to her friends. She isn’t as heartless as her mom, she truly cares about Evie and Carlos and Jay. She cares that Evie’s mother only taught her daughter to be a good wife, when Evie is so much more. She cares that Jay’s father expects the impossible from his son, raising his son to be exactly like his sworn enemy, raising him to be a street rat. She cares that Carlo’s mother hurts him, physically and emotionally, so much that he actually ran from her and to Auradon, and cares more about her furs than him. And she cares that her mom only loves evil, and not her own daughter. They all are here to prove themselves to their parents, to show that they are worth the burden they brought upon their parents. Because that’s all they are. Burdens.

Mal refused to cry. She didn’t cry. You had to have feelings to cry. You had to be weak. And Mal wasn’t weak. She was rotten to the core. She had to be.


	3. Jam

Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay were still getting used to how the food situation was in Auradon. As the sun rose, Mal and Evie did too, a force of habit from the Isle. They were unsure of the time for breakfast, but knew it wasn’t yet. Instead of going to find Carlos and Jay, who were undoubtedly up as well, the girls stayed in, Evie finishing up some homework, Mal reading her spell book, still fascinated by all the things she could do. Just when Evie finished up the last of it, someone knocked on the door. As she packed her bag, Mal answered the door.

“Good morning!” Ben said with a smile.  
“Um… Hi.” Mal replied.

Ben’s smile drooped a little with Mal’s unenthusiastic greeting, but continued on.

“I’m here to escort you to the breakfast that was promised to you. It has come to my attention that the schedule given to you only list the time for lunch, because it is during school hours, so I figured you may not know what time breakfast was.” He explained, kind of nervously. 

He wanted their approval, because after learning a bit more about the life on the Isle of the Lost, he didn’t want them to go back. Lonnie had explained to him what she had learned when she saw them baking cookies, and it just about broke his heart. He had never been more thankful that not only was he born to very loving parents, but he was born the heir to the throne, so he could change things.

“Oh! Okay.” She said, hiding her excitement. She turned her head and said, “Evie! Breakfast time!”

They followed Ben, meeting up with Jay and Carlos, who were escorted by a nervous looking Doug. He seemed relieved when he saw Prince Ben, but nervous again when he saw Mal, and especially Evie.

“Prince Ben, here are the other two. I’ll just be on my way.” He stuttered as he scurried away, sneaking glances at the group… Or maybe just Evie. She didn’t mind, she was actually flattered.

“Wonderful, now everyone just follow me. Don’t worry, you’ll start to find you own way soon enough. The building isn’t so confusing after a while.” Ben said, starting to walk towards the dining hall.

Following him, Mal muttered, “Too bad we won’t be staying long enough to find out.”

The prince wasn’t meant to hear that, but he did. He stopped walking and looked into Mal’s eyes, and said, “I will make sure you will. You won’t be going back if I have anything to do with it, not for a while anyway. Things are better for you here. In Auradon, we thrive on love and affection, and anywhere without it isn’t a good place to live. Besides, we have a while before the school year ends.”

Ben made sure to look at the rest of the group, as if to assure them he was being sincere. Then, he turned and started walking again. The four villains looked at each other, wide eyed and confused, and also a bit concerned. He had spoken to Lonnie. It was obvious. A bit angry, the four still followed the prince.

When they finally made it to the dining hall, the four friends were shown the line this time. Those already on line made sure to speed up, giving the new kids some space. No one went on line behind them, not yet. Everyone had their eyes on the villains, but not in fear. At least, not just in fear. They were curious.

But the four didn’t notice they were being watched, as they were too focused in the food at their disposal. How could they have So. Much. Food…? Most of these foods were foreign to the them, as breakfast foods always seemed like a waste. Ben ended up explaining different foods to Mal and Jay, whilst Evie and Carlos were aided by Doug, who had reappeared when Evie looked confused. After they spent a while picking out their breakfasts, they went back to the table reserved just for them, this time with Ben joining them. Doug had returned to his own 

Then suddenly, Ben remembered something. “Wait! None of you got toast and jam. It’s a staple in an Auradon breakfast.”

“Jam? You have jam here?” Carlos asked excitedly. They knew jam. It was a delicacy on the isle, but they knew what it was. The four transfer students got up to get the jam, but stopping in confusion when they got to the table.

“Prince Ben, is this the jam?” Evie asked.  
“Um… yes. Choose whichever flavor you like.” He replied.  
“You have different flavors? Why?” Mal asked.  
“People have different likes. Is it different on the island?”  
“Yeah,” Carlos said, “If you had any kind of fruit, it went into the jam. We just called it jam, because there wasn’t enough of one kind of fruit to make it.”  
“Wait, so… just because you don’t like something, you don’t eat it? Seriously?” Jay asked, disbelieving.  
“Um… Yes? I mean, yes. What’s the point of eating something you don’t like, when you can always get something else. You eat what you like here.” Ben explained.  
This was a concept that the four island dwellers didn’t understand. On the island, if it didn’t make you sick, you ate it. But the people were too hungry to let things rot before they had a chance to be eaten. But here, it seemed like food was never difficult to obtain.

“Well, on the island, if you were lucky enough to have food, you ate it.” Mal stated, firm enough to finish the conversation, not liking Ben’s pity or ignorance. How could a prince know so little about a piece of his kingdom? She doubted he would do anything to aid the ones still stuck on the Isle of the Lost.

They turned their attention to the jams. Evie took some apple, smiling at the significance of the fruit. Mal took two different kind of grapes, liking the colors, but she saw something called a strawberry that she decided to try a different day, and Carlos and Jay took a bit of each, smiling to each other as they did.

But they dove into their food again, excited to eat the new foods that smelled delicious. Ben spent most of the time watching the others at his table, fascinated by their reactions to foods he’d been eating since he could chew. But he started to fear they would make themselves sick.

“Hey you guys, slow down a bit. No one’s going to steal your food.” He laughed, but that died down when he looked at their faces. Evie dropped her fork quickly, Mal was thinking, her eyes far away in a memory. Carlos just started stuttering through apologies, as if he’d been reprimanded. He was only calmed down by Jay rubbing his back. Jay? Well, Jay was furious. His hunger and fears were not something to joke about.

“Don’t you dare laugh about our past suffering. How am I supposed to know someone won’t steal my food, or poison me? At home, if a baby can’t keep a lollypop, I sure as hell can’t keep my food safe unless it’s gone. Everything on the island is fast. You steal fast, you run fast, you eat fast, you get hungry fast. That’s what we had to learn. We aren’t gracious that you brought up here, because soon enough, we’re going back. So we’re not going to allow ourselves to get spoiled, because that causes us to suffer in the future. When you decide to throw us back because we are just burdens to the prissy people of Auradon. Stop pitying us, too. We spent our whole lives on that island. We can deal with it.”

The dining hall was silent again, as Ben tried to find his words. 

“I apologize for my ignorance, but let me assure you again, things will not return to the way they were before. I promise.”

Jay went to yell at him again, but Carlos’ hand on his arm stopped him. He slowly sat down, returning to his meal, not wanting to waste a crumb.

Soon after, when everyone calmed down, Ben went to get up to throw his food away, having barely eaten any. He should have known this would cause another fight. Especially since the four villains were already in terrible moods. 

“Ben,” Mal asked, “What are you doing?’  
“Just throwing away my… oh.” He realized what he had done wrong.  
“You just throw away perfectly edible food? Why?  
“I don’t know… All uneaten food is thrown out. We have… plenty to spare.”

Evie gave a gasp of horror, while Carlos looked sad and Jay, once again, angry. As did Mal.

“I know people who would do unspeakable things for even a bite of that food, Ben. Food you are just throwing away. People are starving, and you are doing nothing to help them. All four of us barely ate a meal a day, the size, in your standards, would have been just a snack. We survived off of that. We survived off of food we stole, because we had no other choice. Our parents didn’t care if we ate, Ben. We wouldn’t have survived to now if it weren’t for each other. And where were you? Throwing away perfectly good resources, because you didn’t think anyone needed them. Why did you get to live in the lap of luxury, while we had to withstand starvation and abuse and pain and nothing a child should have to suffer? How are you the good guys, when all you do is take advantage of what you have? You never had to know what it’s like to have nothing.”

With that, Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay got up, having finished all of their food, and started to leave, but Mal had one more thing to say.

“Oh, and Lonnie? Next time you learn something about us, i’d suggest keeping it to yourself. Because I can take away that hair, and I can do so much more.”

With that, our evil foursome left. They didn’t need an escort. They didn’t care that the whole school had watched them fight with the prince that brought them here. They didn’t care that they weren't grateful to him. They didn’t care because the people of Auradon were just like they were told they would be. Arrogant, narcissistic, and a list of other things. The “good” people of Auradon were just as bad as the villains, and that wasn’t right. They looked at each other, and vowed to get that wand, and take revenge on those who wronged them. And with that magic cookie, they would break poor little “Bennie-Boo’s” heart. They were truly rotten to the core

~:-:~

Meanwhile, Ben was planning. He would be crowned King in a short while, and with that power, he could make a difference. Feed the starving, give more kids on the Isle of the Lost a second chance. They didn’t need to be banished just because they were born to evil. Mal was right. And Ben would change the way things are. For the better, because Ben? He was truly good.


End file.
